News

August 2010

Relocation of National Monuments Service

The National Monuments Service have relocated from their previous offices at Dun Sceine and are now based in the Custom House, Dublin 1. A notice with revised contact information for them can be downloaded here.

Introduction to Landscape Character Assessment (LCA)

This award-winning, two day multi-disciplinary CPD training module is an initiative of the Heritage Council of Ireland, developed in partnership with Clare County Council, Engineers Ireland (EI), Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI), Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM), Irish Landscape Institute (ILI), Irish Planning Institute (IPI), the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA), the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). 

The next course will take place on 22-23 September at Spanish Point and Tulla County Clare. Immediate booking is advised - the booking form can be downloaded here.

June 2010

The Spring issue of IAI News can now be downloaded here. Low resolution copies will be circulated to all members by email shortly.

May 2010

The National Museum of Ireland gave a detailed presentation to the recent IAI Spring Conference on the Collections Resource Centre, which is under development at Swords to house the artefacts and ecofacts from archaeological excavations as well as the Museums other collections. A section of the facility will be provided to the National Monuments Service to house both their archives and also the archives from archaeological excavations. This presentation can be downloaded here.

The National Museum of Ireland has also issued a revised set of Advice Notes for Excavators, which can be downloaded here. The National Museum would welcome any submissions or comments on the new set of Advice Notes on or by 16 June 2010. Please forward comments to the duty officer

March 2010

Landscape Character Assessment -  Inter Institutional CPD Course 

March 2010
IAI CPD Course:
Archaeobotanical samples - how, where, what and when to sample on a range of archaeological sites

Workshop participants were (L to R) Shane Delaney, Vera Rahilly, Judith Carroll, Cóilin O'Drisceoil and Dr Scott Timpany (Trainer)


The CPD workshop entitled 'Archaeobotanical samples - how, where, what and when to sample on a range of archaeological sites' took place in Luce Hall, Botany Department, Trinity College Dublin on Friday 5th March 2010. The partners in the collaborative event were IAI, Irish Wood Anatomists Association (IWAA) and Irish Archaeobotany Discussion Group (IADG). The awareness raising workshop was well attended and the trainers included Susan Lyons, Dr Meriel McClatchie, Mick Monk, Ellen O'Carroll, Lorna O'Donnell, Dr Ingelise Stuijts and Dr Scott Timpany.



Workshop participants were (L to R) Dr Meriel McClatchie (Trainer), James Hession and Mick Monk (Trainer)


Workshop participants were (L to R) Lorna O'Donnell (Trainer), Fintan Walsh, Shane Delaney and Dr Ingelise Stujts (Trainer)

Archaeology and the Planning Process at the Local Authority Level - 
IAI CPD Course January 2010

The CPD seminar entitled 'Archaeology and the Planning Process at the Local Authority Level' took place in City Hall, Cork on Friday 29th January 2010. The seminar was well attended and the trainers included Ciara Brett (Cork City Council), Pat Holland (South Tipperary County Council), Sarah McCutcheon (Limerick County Council) and Mary Sleeman (Cork County Council). The venue was kindly sponsored by Cork City Council.

Some of the seminar participants were (L to R) Emmet Byrnes, Heidi Jacobsen, Ciara Brett (Trainer), Avril Hayes, Fran Wilkinson, Mairead McLaughlin, Michael Holland, Margaret McNamara, Jacinta Kiely, Sarah McCutcheon (Trainer), Mary Sleeman (Trainer), Ross MacLeod, Eamon Cotter, Pat Holland (Trainer) and Jerry O'Sullivan.2 September 2009

13 July 2009

29 June 2009

IAI survey of the employment levels in Irish Archaeology

The IAI has published the results of a survey of the employment levels in Irish archaeology. The survey was carried out in March 2009 and examines in detail the employment trends for the period June 2008 – January 2009, comparing them with the baseline established by the Discovering the Archaeologists of Europe study in 2007.

The results of the survey have confirmed the anecdotal evidence and reveals to the profession, for the first time, the scale of the decline over a seven month period from June 2008 to January 2009. The numbers of archaeologists represented in this survey as employed in June 2008 accounts for 27% (459 of 1709) of the estimated numbers of archaeologists employed in Ireland in 2007.

The decline in the numbers of people employed in Irish Archaeology is reflected in both contract and permanently employed archaeologists. A reduction of the magnitude of 82% of contract archaeologists and 26% of permanently employed archaeologists can only be described as substantial.

It is intended to repeat and update the survey regularly during 2009; the next update will focus evaluating the period ending June 2009.

Download the survey report.

29 June 2009

IAI Summer Conference 2009

Where Now For Irish Archaeology? -  Policy, Practice and Prospects

The IAI is organising a one-day summer conference which aimsto examine the on-going government-led review of policy and practice in Irish archaeology and will also explore the prospects for the profession in the current economic climate. A series of speakers from third level institutions, private companies and government departments will participate in the conference which promises to be informative and rewarding.

The conference will take place on Saturday 18 July 2009 at the Red Cow Morans Hotel, Naas Road, Dublin 22. A list of speakers and conference programme will be available shortly on the conference page.

The Institute is organising a poster display area wheremembers, conference attendees and post-graduate students may display posters which illustrate the nature of their research or highlight aspects of their fieldwork. Posters to not need to conform to the conference theme. For full details, including technical specifications, please download the Call for Posters Notice.

6 June 2009

IAI Continuous Professional Development Event: Writing & Editing for Archaeological Publication

The IAI presents a workshop for practising archaeologists. The course will be led by Mr. Frank Coyne, Aegis Archaeology Ltd., Dr. Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, University College Galway, Mr. Paul Gosling, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology and Mr. Jerry O’Sullivan, National Road Authority.

This one day seminar will take place on Wednesday 24 June 2009, at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway City.

For more information download the course outline; those interested in attending are asked to contact the development officer by 13 May. Registration forms can be downloaded here.

5 May 2009

IAI Continuous Professional Development Event: Writing Heritage

The IAI presents a workshop for archaeological and historical consultants, museum curators and other heritage professionals. The course will be led by Dr Edel Bhreathnach, Academic Project Manager, UCD Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute

This is a one day seminar on Friday 22 May 2009, at the Seminar Room, Humanities Institute of Ireland, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

For more information download the course outline; those interested in attending are asked to contact the development officer by 13 May. Registration forms can be downloaded here.

8 April 2009

IAI News - Newsletter Series 2 Volume 1

The IAI is pleased to announce the relaunch of IAI News as a standalone publication.

In 2003 the decision was made to publish the institute's newsletter as an appendix to the Journal of Irish Archaeology; the board has reviewed this arrangement and decided to revive the newsletter as a standalone publication, and edocument, to be published biannually in Spring and Autumn, beginning in 2009. The first volume in the new series has been emailed to all members and is now available for download in both low resolution (screen viewing only) and high resolution (print ready) files from the newsletter page.

Contributions are invited for the next volume (deadline 1 September 2009); notes for contributors are printed in the newsletter and also the newsletter page,

6 April 2009

DoEHLG: Summary of proposals to consolidate, revise and extend the National Monuments Acts, 1930 to 2004 and related enactments

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has provided IAI with a short summary document outlining the main characteristics of the proposed new legislation to consolidate and replace the existing National Monuments Acts. The new legislation will be the first significant outcome fo of the Ministerial Review of Policy and Practice which began in autumn 2007. It is anticipated that the heads of bills and the full report of the Expert Advisory Committee will be published by the department in May 2009. The summary document can be downloaded from our publications page and will also be circulated to members by email shortly.

‘Pilot’ CPD training course – Places available

The IAI is a partner in a ‘Pilot’ CPD training course titled ‘An Introduction to Landscape Character Assessment (LCA). The CPD module is a Heritage Council initiative with three professional institutes, namely the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI), the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) and the Irish Landscape Institute (ILI). The CPD module is designed to address the fact that many professionals dealing with the management of the Irish landscape do not receive formal training in Landscape Character Assessment (LCA). The objective of the CPD module is to raise awareness within the professional Institutes and other partners of the key elements of LCA and Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) and their wide-ranging uses and benefits, across many sectors of society.

The course shall address topics such as an introduction to LCA, LCA in practice: a review of the LCA of County Clare, Geology and Geomorphology, IT and Landscape, Historic Landscape Characterisation, Public Participation as part of the LCA process and Using LCA in forward planning and development management.

The ‘pilot’ CPD training module will take place on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th May 2009 at Spanish Point and Tulla, Co. Clare. The IAI as a partner institute has been allocated three places for IAI members to attend the event. As this is the ‘pilot’ the course fee and accommodation are covered by the Heritage Council.

If you have an interest/ experience in Landscape Character Assessment and Historic Landscape Characterisation, are definitely available to attend the two day event and committed to having an input into the course and the subsequent evaluation, please email the development officer (developmentofficer@iai.ie) with your expression of interest before 2pm on Wednesday 15th April 2009 (If you are posting your expression of interest, please ensure it arrives at the IAI office, 63, Merrion Square, Dublin 2 before 2pm on Thursday 16th April 2009). Please ensure that you include your correct contact details (email, postal address and telephone).

The three candidates will be chosen on a lottery basis, once they have satisfied the selection criteria. The successful candidates will be contacted by the development officer on Tuesday 14th April.

Selection criteria:
The spaces are reserved for IAI members in good standing with the Institute.

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January 2009

Discovering the Archaeologists of Europe -  Report now online.

Discovering the Archaeologists of Europeis a study of archaeological practice across twelve countries of the European Union. With generous funding support from  the Heritage Council, the Irish section of the survey was undertaken by University College Dublin and the report is now available for download from our publications page.

IAI CPD event

The first course in the second phase of the IAI CPD programme took place on Friday 21st November 2008. The IAI accredited course entitled ‘Excavation report writing for the practising archaeologist – methodology and skills’ was presented by Linzi Simpson (Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd) and Penny Johnston (Eachtra Archaeological Projects). This course is the first in a series of CPD events organised by the IAI as part of its commitment to the implementation of an accredited continuing professional development programme for its members. See our CPD section for more.

Pictured at IAI CPD event on ‘Excavation report writing for the practising archaeologist- methodology and skills’ were
(L to R) Paul Gosling (IAI Treasurer/Course participant), Linzi Simpson (Course trainer), Dr. Ann Lynch (Course assessor)
and Margaret Gowen (IAI Chair)

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